The Petzl Tikka has a lot of what we feel is most important in a light: a quality design that will last for years, super-easy to use, and lighting power that will meet most people's practical needs. At $30 list, and often available for less online, the Tikka is reasonably priced too. The main problem we have with the Tikka, is not the Tikka itself, but it's little brother, the Petzl Tikkina, which performs better overall for 33% lower price. Unless we needed the red LED light offered in the Tikka, which can help as a great nightlight in the tent for younger kids or for astronomy fans who want to preserve their night sky vision, the Tikka just doesn't justify $10 higher price over the Tikkina, which offers nearly identical performance, and is even easier to use, for less money. And, if even if we did need the red LED, and if weight and packed size were concerns, then the Petzl Zipka selling for the same price, but taking up less room in your pack and weighing 24% less, is a better choice. As a result, the Tikka is a bit wedged in between two lights from the same company, that offer compelling offerings.
Petzl Tikka Review
Compare prices at 3 resellers Pros: Reasonably priced, very easy to use, good battery life, red LED, durable design
Cons: Below average trail lighting in spot mode, average flood lighting
Manufacturer: Petzl
Our Verdict
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Petzl Tikka | |||||
| Awards |  |  | | ||
| Price | $20.96 at Backcountry Compare at 3 sellers | $89.00 at Amazon | $36.73 at REI Compare at 2 sellers | $39.95 at REI Compare at 2 sellers | $27.84 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Reasonably priced, very easy to use, good battery life, red LED, durable design | Bright wide beam, good battery life, durable design, rechargeable | Excellent trail finding and close proximity beam, waterproof, above average battery life | Excellent spot light capability, wide evenly lit flood beam, above average in most ways | Excellent brightness and beam control, often available online at discount |
| Cons | Below average trail lighting in spot mode, average flood lighting | Expensive, 18650 Li-ion battery is not included, heavier than average | More expensive, heavier than average, claimed battery life is very misleading | Below average battery life, claimed battery life is wildly misleading, single button hard to use, lame waterproofing | Average battery life, heavier and bulkier than most |
| Bottom Line | A good light but outperformed by the Petzl Tikkina, which costs less, unless you need red LED light | An impressive, powerful light in a small package that won't disappoint if you can get past the price | A durable light that will last for years with a bright high-quality beam, slightly higher in cost and weight | A quality, durable, and bright light that hits the sweet spot for most people's needs, despite dubious marketing claims | Previously one of our favorites, but hasn't kept pace with competitor's innovations |
| Rating Categories | Petzl Tikka | Zebralight H600w Mk IV | Black Diamond Storm | Black Diamond Spot | Coast HL7 |
| Trail Finding (35%) | |||||
| Close Proximity (20%) | |||||
| Battery Life (15%) | |||||
| Weight (15%) | |||||
| Ease Of Use (15%) | |||||
| Specs | Petzl Tikka | Zebralight H600w... | Black Diamond Storm | Black Diamond Spot | Coast HL7 |
| Measured Beam Distance | 62 m | 121 m | 91 m | 94 m | 112 m |
| Claimed Distance | 60 m | Not specified | 85 m | 80 m | 119 m |
| Measured High Mode Run-time (ANSI) | 3.9 hrs | 3.1 hrs | 5 hrs | 2.9 hrs | 3.1 hrs |
| Claimed High Mode Run-time | 60 hrs | 2.9 hrs | 40 hrs | 30 hrs | 1.5 hrs |
| Measured Low Mode Run-time | 225 hrs | 232 hrs | 42 hrs | 9.7 hrs | 25 hrs |
| Claimed Low Mode Run-time | 240 hrs | 203 hrs | 120 hrs | 175 hrs | 70 hrs |
| Measured Weight | 3 oz, 84 g | 4.5 oz, 127 g | 4 oz, 112 g | 3.1 oz, 89 g | 4.5 oz, 127 g |
| Battery Type | 3 AAA | 18650 rechargeable Li-ion | 4 AAA | 3 AAA | 3 AAA |
| Water Resistance | IPX4 splash proof | IPX8 waterproof to 2 meters, 30 minutes | IP67 waterproof to one meter and dustproof | Splash proof (dubious IPX8 claim) | water resistant |
| Manuf Claimed Lumens | 200 lumens | 1400 lumens | 350 lumens | 300 lumens | 285 lumens |
| Beam Type | flood/spot | flood | flood/spot | flood/spot | flood/spot |
| Red Light | yes | no | yes, red/green/blue night-vision modes | yes | no |
| On Switch Lock | no | yes (tailcap lockout) | yes | yes | no |
Our Analysis and Test Results
There is so much to love about the Petzl Tikka that we find it regrettable to confess we feel most people should buy one of the sister products, either the Petzl Tikkina that offers similar performance for 33% lower price (but without the red LED), or Petzl Zipka which sells for the same price and offers the exact same lighting features & performance, for 24% lower weight and smaller packed size.
Performance Comparison
Trail Finding
The trail finding score was OK in general but pretty poor compared to top-performing lights that also list for $30, such as the Black Diamond Spot. But, the Spot is 0.8 ounces heavier (25g) and doesn't pack as small.
A more fair comparison is probably looking at the Zipka versus the Black Diamond Ion, which is similarly small and slightly 0.4 oz lighter than the Zipka. As you can in the beam comparison images below Zipka offers a much brighter and wider spotlight beam than the BD Ion.
Another alternative worth comparing to, is the Black Diamond Spot, which sells for the same price, only weighs 0.8 oz more (25g), and delivers much stronger lighting performance, for both close proximity and as a spotlight, as can be seen below:
Close Proximity
The Zipka is below average in its flood mode lighting, with a score 4 of 10. While it is perfectly functional, it lacks the wide even lighting of the BD Spot or the ultralight e+LITE.
Battery Life
You are likely to rely on a light like the Zipka primarily for close-proximity flood lighting, and it offers impressive battery life for that application, much better than the e+LITE, and about the same as the BD Ion,
Weight
By design, the Zipka is one of the lighter headlamps, although certainly not the lightest.
Ease of Use
The Zipka is quite easy to use and has the same intuitive one button activation as the rest of the Tikka line. However, the string headband makes it hard to use when wearing gloves. In addition, you should be careful if you plan to use this with a climbing helmet. Without a wide elastic headband, the Zipka does not attach as well to helmets. Also, if you're running and bouncing, it's not as easy to get the Zipka really cinched down hard around your head.
Best Applications
The Zipka is at its best for an application like a 3-5 day backpacking trip, where weight and size matter, but so much as to mandate the most ultralight solutions like the Petzl e+LITE. For a weekend backcountry trip, the Petzl Tikkina or BD Spot might be a better choice, since they weigh only a little bit more, and offer much superior performance as a general purpose light in the long-run.
Value
In the current headlamp market, $30 is a price that needs to deliver a lot of performance. The Zipka is kind of a special purpose solution, in that it is not the light we'd choose for general-purpose use, which means buying it involves a compromise on performance in the long-run, to gain its lighter weight and smaller size. The beam power and other lighting metrics are just not that impressive for the price of this light.
Conclusion
It the size and weight of the Zipka meet your needs, then it might be a good solution. But, we see it as straddling two worlds — not light or small enough for the ultralight backpacker, but not offering enough performance to be a good option for general purpose use (and the occasional backpacker, who does shorter trips, might not be so obsessed with weight and size to want to make the Zipka their primary headlamp).
— RJ Spurrier